Changes and Consequences
by Fission25
Summary: 5th year. Harry learns the horrible truth of the wizarding world and finds himself at the center of the war against Voldemort and a revolution against centuries of opression. Harry&Susan Bones and Harry&Tonks will be the main relationships.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, Raincoast Books, and Warner Brothers Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Summary: Feeling betrayed by his friends and the Order Harry flees Privet Drive. With help he learns to come to terms with his destiny and begins his training to fulfill it. Changes and Consequences will be a kind of brother story to Time of Learning, it will take the same timeline and many of the events will be similiar. The story will show the differences of what would happen if Harry decided not to send the letter to Dumbledore.

The Dursley's, owners of Number Four Privet Drive, prided themselves on being absolutely normal. There was nothing odd in their house; every inch was perfectly clean, every item was in its proper place, and not a speck of dust could be seen. This was the rule, except in the smallest bedroom of the house. A small teenage boy with black hair sat at his desk reading.

Early that morning, Harry Potter had woken to get ready for his early morning run when he had found two letters and a couple books on his desk. The first note was from Mad-eye Moody, which stated that he should not leave the Dursley's yard to go on his usual morning run, nor should he leave the house at all except for an emergency. There were no reasons and no more to the letter than that. To say that Harry was angry with the letter would be a vast understatement. That letter was the last straw; he was already angry with the Order for all their lies and betrayals last year, and now it seemed they were going to do it again. His anger continued to grow throughout the morning, until his loyal owl Hedwig reminded him that he had not read the second letter. He was surprised when he opened up the letter; it was written on normal parchment but the color of the ink changed from Pink, to Green, to Yellow, to Purple, and then finally a bright Orange that would do the Weasley's proud. He actually laughed when he saw the signature, the letter was from Tonks. It explained that they were investigating a possible threat in his area and that he'd only need to stay inside until they make sure it was safe. She ended the letter saying that though he may laugh at the books, to read them because they could help him with his emotions and help sleep since he wouldn't be able to run to exhaustion outside any more.

Harry actually managed a small smile after reading the letter from Tonks. He had only learned that Tonks was watching him for the Order a few days ago. It had been almost a week and a half since he had gotten back from Hogwarts and he had barely slept at all, the few times he managed to sleep the nightmares made it worse than staying awake. He nearly passed out from exhaustion at the park and stumbled onto her, causing them both to fall. It took him a moment to figure out what had happened and it wasn't until he grabbed to pull the invisibility cloak off that he realized just where exactly his hand was on her and what he had grabbed on the beautiful Metamorphmagus. His anger at being followed quickly dissipated and turned into complete embarrassment as he stuttered an apology. She laughed softly and told him not to worry; she helped him back to his room where she took off the invisibility cloak so she could talk to him. His embarrassment was still there when they began talking but had completely disappeared by the end. Tonks had been the first person he actually talked to since he had gotten back and he hadn't realized how much he missed not being alone. Because of her, he now understood that it wasn't completely his fault that Sirius died. It was amazing really how much she had helped in just an afternoon of talking; she didn't try to tell him it wasn't his fault or anything like that.

She just asked a simple question - if a similar situation happened again, would he make the same decision and would he be willing to take the risk of the vision being true? She said to consider it with only what he knew at the time. It took a while to really think about it and explain it all to her, but I finally realize that I would do the exact same thing over again. Apparently Tonks hadn't known all of what had happened because she had gasped several times when he explained everything that had happened and had thrown herself at him with a hug whenever he mentioned the Cruciatus or Voldemort. Afterwards she explained that it was one of the few weapons the Dark had over the Light, and that he had made the only choice he could and still remain true to himself. Tonks left that evening but had giving him a couple potions to help him sleep for the night and told him that running during the morning and evening - and if needed, through out the day – would make it easier to sleep in the beginning.

Three days had passed and the Order still hadn't let him know when he'd be able to go outside again. The potions Tonks gave him had worked well but since then he still hadn't been able to get a night of uninterrupted sleep. The nightmares were less but between them and his sore muscles Harry woke in a worse mood than he went to bed in and didn't want to move. Unfortunately the owl at his window had other ideas for him. Tonks had helped with learning that it wasn't his fault Sirius died, but that didn't mean that his death still wasn't painful, and it didn't help much with the Prophecy. He tried his best not to think of the Prophecy; unfortunately the more he tried not to think of it the more he ended up thinking of it.

The books Tonks gave him had helped a bit; one book was on physical fitness and had several exercises he could do in his room. The other book was on Yoga, he had almost thought it was a Tonks' form of a joke until he read the note on it. Tonks said that she had begun using it during her fifth year to help with the stress of OWLs and that it had helped her a lot. She also wrote that she still used it to help calm her and relax, and that the increase flexibility helped in her dueling. Harry flipped through the book and mentally laughed at the thought of Tonks being coordinated enough to do Yoga. She was always tripping over things, falling, and generally being a klutz, but then he began to remember that night at the Ministry, Tonks had been fighting and avoiding curses while on stairs and uneven ground. The Tonks that night was not the Tonks he remembered from the summer or Christmas. That alone was enough to make Harry take it seriously.

Harry found that Yoga was actually pretty easy, at least the basics, he figured that all the time spent in his small cupboard growing up and escaping Dudley had left him with a great sense of his body. He wasn't sure what he thought of about it yet though, on one hand he could see how it helped him relax his body and control his temper but on the other hand it left his mind open to open and he ended up spending a lot of time thinking about Sirius and the Prophecy which would end up canceling out any of the relaxation. Because of that Harry found himself spending more time working on his physical training and doing the exercises from that book. On the third day he was finding that he had muscles he never knew even existed before. Unfortunately the reason for this was because he was sorer than he had ever been in his life. The book had warned about doing too much to soon, but with not being able to go outside Harry had spent most of his days working out or doing Yoga. Now he was paying for it.

Harry tried and failed to stifle his groan as he got out of bed to get the message from the owl before it woke his Aunt and Uncle. He didn't recognize the owl and was hoping it was from the Order telling him he could go outside again. Unfortunately the owl, surprisingly, turned out to be from Ginny Weasley. He had never received and owl from her before, so read the letter quickly incase it was important.

Dear Harry,

This is one of Fred and George's owls from their shop; they needed an extra hand at Wheezes, so I offered to work down in Diagon Alley with them. I know you are probably wondering why I'm writing to you, I just thought you might need another friend or at least someone else to write to. If I know Ron, he's probably been telling you about the Cannons and complaining about Hermione. And if I know Hermione, she has probably been trying to console you, pry out whatever you don't want to talk about, and complain about Ron or NEWTs. Pig's been so busy lately running letters so I haven't had a chance to write you before now; Errol is even worse than he used to be now, Mum and Dad aren't even using him anymore. They said they're going to get another one but I think dad is pretty attached to Errol; he's had him since his first year of Hogwarts.

I'm not sure what all Ron has been telling you, so I'll fill you in about the family. We're all at the Burrow, though I'm sure you knew that already. Percy came home a few days ago begging for forgiveness; most of us wouldn't talk to him, but Mum was really happy he came back. I'm not sure I can forgive him, but I miss him so much I started talking to him before he left. Ron, Fred and George still haven't. Fred and George are still living here even though they are thinking about moving into the shop - Mum wants them to stay at home though.

Hermione is back at her parent's house, Dumbledore put up a lot of wards around it over the year, so she and her family should be safe. She and her parents are going on vacation next month. She may be inviting my git of a brother - though if he keeps acting up, I don't think she will, or at least that's what she threatened to get him to start behaving. She's making a huge deal out of all the last minute details. I think it's more the fact that she wasn't prepared for it that is bugging her the most, you know how she likes to be prepared and in control of everything. I still can't believe those two got together... I never thought Ron would have the courage to ask her on a date! And as smart as Hermione is I didn't think she would actually say yes to him. I mean Ron… Ug, even the thought is too disgusting to think about.

I hope the Muggles are treating you well, or at least not giving you a hard time. If not, let me know and I'll send you a care package from Fred and George. I tried to find out how you were doing but I couldn't get anything out of mum or dad. Mum has been going nutters worrying about you; she's been cooking up enough for an army and cleaning even more than before. I wasn't sure why until I saw Tonks at the store yesterday, she let me know a little of what was going on. Mum is right mad at her for leaving her post like that, but I can't believe they won't even let you out of the house. It's supposed to be only temporary but if it's not... We'll get you out of there someway or another. I'm not going to ask if you're okay. I know I'm not. But could you write something to let us know how you are? We're all worried about you.

Ginny

When he received the letter from the Order a few days ago Harry had a letter from Tonks to help curb his anger; this time there was no other letter to help. As he sat staring at the letter his mind worked over-time, his anger increasing with every moment. He couldn't believe they hadn't told him! It was bad enough that they got together just after his godfather died and he was sent back here but to not tell him. Actually he realized that they hadn't even bothered to write to him at all! Not even a single letter when they said they would as often as possible! And now they were going away on vacation together! Were they happy to have him out of the way so that they could be on there own? Did they even care that he was stuck here alone? Had they just gotten together or had they just been keeping it secret from him, after all, going away on vacation together after only dating for a week or so wasn't exactly normal. At King's Cross, they said they would see him soon - what had happened? Did they blame him for getting hurt at the Ministry of Magic? Had they been betraying him all along?

Harry tried to work out and do Yoga to help calm him but nothing was working. The only thing he could think of was their betrayal. They were the two most important people in his lives and they had done this to him! All this combined with not being able to go outside and having heard nothing from the Order as to when he would be able to leave sent him over the edge. In short order his room was a disaster; his chair broken, his bed flipped against the wall, and Dudley's broken toys shattered and laying haphazardly throughout the room. The only thing left untouched was his school trunk; he opened his trunk to destroy it, to erase every memory of Ron and Hermione when he was stopped cold. There lying on top of his school items was his Firebolt.

His Firebolt… Sirius had given it to him, his first present from him. He grabbed and brought it to his body holding on to it as if it was his only lifeline. He slid to the floor next to his bed as memories wracked his body, Sirius, Ron, Hermione, The Prophecy, The Veil, Bellatrix, the Cruciatus curse…

He wasn't sure how long he sat there as the memories replayed over and over in his mind but eventually he began to feel completely drained; his life, his emotions, his body, and his soul. It was all just too much.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, Raincoast Books, and Warner Brothers Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

When Harry woke up again it was early evening and the sun was beginning to set. He had slept most the day away. As the memories of earlier came back to him he new he had to get away from here. Dumbledore had lied to him, the Order kept their secrets and now his friends had betrayed him. He needed to get away and could only think of one person that may be able to help him. He new she was fair; he just hoped she wasn't part of the Order still. The problem was he had no idea where she lived. A few soft words to Hedwig and a bit of attention solved that problem.

He got up off the bed and grabbed his Firebolt and put on his invisibility cloak before heading downstairs, being careful not to make any noise incase the Dursley's heard him. He was almost all the way down his the stairs when he heard footsteps nearby; he silently cursed, he did not want to have to deal with them now. He stayed still for a moment trying to figure out where they were to best avoid him but couldn't hear anything again. Hoping they were in their rooms or that he was just imagining things Harry continued downstairs. He walked behind the shed, took off his cloak and mounted the broom. It took a bit of work to cover himself and the broom with the invisibility cloak, but he managed to get all but a small amount on the very bottom covered. Hopefully whoever was watching the house wouldn't notice. Taking off he smiled for the first time that day. He was in the air, where he belonged.

The trip took nearly four hours, he had no idea where he was or how to get back, but he had complete faith in Hedwig. It was slow and cold being up so high and by the time he got there had berated himself for not bringing a jacket. He was veering off to the left and increasing his speed when Hedwig began to peck at him, trying to get his attention. It took him a minute to figure out that he stopped following his loyal owl but soon was back on course. A minute later he began to veer off again but he caught himself this time. He called Hedwig to him and stopped while he figured out what happened. He finally decided that it had to be the wards around the house; they must be something like the muggle repelling wards but for everyone. This time Harry decided only to focus his mind on following Hedwig and nothing else. It seemed to work perfectly, at least for another minute when hit seemed to hit another ward. This one simply wouldn't let him go through; every time he tried the air seemed to get thicker and thicker until he could barely move. Thankfully Hedwig once again came to his aid and started leading him directly up and then slowly over. Harry realized that he must be directly over the wards; unfortunately with how high he had flown Harry was now freezing. A few minutes more passed when Hedwig began leading him straight down again. Harry was worried that he would just hit the same ward as before but a few minutes later he saw the roof of a large stone manor appear in front of his eyes.

Now that he was here Harry began to worry about what would actually happen. He was fairly certain that she lived with her aunt but had no idea if she was home or even if she would really help, but first he had to find Susan and convince her to let him in during the middle of the night. Hedwig was ahead of him again though and had already led the way straight to Susan's window and started pecking at it to wake her up. A minute later a few candles were lit and Harry caught his breath as he saw Susan. He hadn't even thought of what she may, or more accurately may not be wearing to sleep in. Luckily, though his small brain disagreed, Susan did not sleep starkers but even then the light nightgown she was wearing was far less than he had ever seen her in before.

Harry was not sure how Susan knew his owl but when she opened up the window she called Hedwig by her name, though she did seem surprised that she was there. Harry grinned for a moment, if she was shocked to see Hedwig…

"Hello Susan."

He was right; the look on Susan's face was priceless, though he didn't actually want to scare the girl who was now looking widely around for someone.

"Relax; it's just me, Harry."

Apparently that was not the thing to say as Susan only looked more worried, "Harry? What are you doing here? Where are you? Why can't I see you?" Though she tried to look calm he could hear her worried voice in the

Harry slowly took off his invisibility cloak and smiled. "Right here. Sorry about that, but I've been flying for hours and didn't want to be seen by Muggles."

Susan still seemed to be in shock of Harry appearing in front of her window so he asked, "Um… Mind if I come in? I um, need to talk to you about something."

That snapped her out of her trance and she opened up the window more for Harry to fly in.

After flying so high for so long Harry was cold and a bit wet from the clouds he had to fly by or sometimes through and the warm air of Susan's room was a very welcome feeling.

Susan must have noticed this because before he knew it Susan was in 'mother mode' and had him sitting right in front of the fire with a warm towel on his back. The fire had died down from earlier in the night and Susan was adding more wood to it. For Harry this had the added benefit of having Susan kneeling in front of him while still wearing not but her nightgown. While she was still covered Harry had a view of a lot more cleavage than he had previously known she had. Harry couldn't help but wonder where the small redhead from first year went and just how blind he must be to never realize that the girl had grown up quite nicely. Susan must have noticed where he was staring because she stood up quickly blushing.

There was a tense silence for a minute while Harry was trying to think of something to say about staring as she sat down next to him. Finally he gathered up his courage enough to manage a stuttering apology. Susan was blushing as well but surprised him by smiling shyly at him and saying that it was kind of nice to be noticed like that which made Harry blush even more than he was before.

There was another moment of silence and then Susan asked him what he needed. Harry, who was till embarrassed by what had just happened blurted out "I need you" before he even thought about what he was saying. He tried to correct himself quickly apologizing and saying that he needed her help and needed to talk to her. By now Susan was giggling like mad but managed to control herself. "Now, what did you need to talk about?"

"Well, you know how I manage to attract trouble, I don't have to look for it, it just finds me…"

"So you're in trouble again are you?" She then added in a teasingly manner, "Only two weeks since school came out, that has to be a record even for you." Harry tried to defend himself but Susan wouldn't let him talk, "You do know that most of us in the DA will help you know matter what, myself included. So… How much trouble are you in this time and what help do you need?"

He could tell that Susan was trying to lighten up the situation a little but to Harry this was no laughing matter. "It's different this time, I'm not going to be brought in front of the Wizengamont, but in a way it's far worse than all the others. Actually that's what it's all about; it's the reason why everything seems to happen to me. It's a long story really, and I'll tell you, but I'm actually hoping that, well. I was hoping your Aunt may be able to listen too. From what I saw and heard she's fair and, well you've seen what's been going on with the Ministry, I can't just go to Fudge."

"It's kind of late, but it's important enough for you to fly all this way in the middle of the night so I'm sure I can talk to her, it may take me a few minutes. Do you mind if I ask something first though?"

"Of course you can, it's the least I can do considering I just woke you up from sleeping to ask for your help."

"Why didn't you go to Dumbledore? I mean the rumor around Hogwarts is that you two are really close, like he's almost your grandfather."

Harry just had to laugh at that. In a way he couldn't blame her, until lately he had thought of Dumbledore as a grandfather.

"I don't know what rumors are around Hogwarts, people normally change the topic as soon as I near, but at the moment Dumbledore is one of my biggest problems." Once again Harry's head was in hands, "I don't know what I did in a previous life to deserve all this, but somehow the two most powerful wizards on the planet both have me targeted. I'll explain it all soon, but do you think you could go check on your Aunt first?"

"That will not be necessary, Mr. Potter."

Harry stood quickly and once again silently cursed his luck, why did everything have to happen to him.

"Auntie!"

Susan and Harry stood there silently; neither knew exactly what to say and could just imagine what this must look like. A midnight rendezvous between two teens, one of which was wearing only in a nightgown.

"Take a seat Mr. Potter. Be grateful I recognized your magical signature or I would have ordered an immediate attack upon your entering the manor."

"Susan, Your behavior has been very disappointing. I raised you as a proper young lady."

Susan looked completed dejected when she had said that. "It's not her fault Madam Bones; Susan had no idea about any of this. She was just as surprised as you when I woke her up."

"And how did you arrive here Mr. Potter, if she did not tell you how."

"I flew from Surrey Ma'am; I used an invisibility cloak to hide myself from view."

"Do not lie Mr. Potter, I am the master of this house and know the wards quite well. It would not be possible for you to enter the property if you were not invited."

"What is it with everyone! Do you all think I have nothing better to do than lie to everyone? I had no idea where I was going when I left or even where I am now. I was hoping for Susan's help and asked my owl Hedwig to lead the way to her. I had some problems with the Wards; the first kept veering me off-course but I got past it by concentrating only on Hedwig and nothing else. The next ones stopped me from going forward but Hedwig found a way around it by flying above and over the ward then straight down to the house."

Madam Bones seemed surprised by that, "An owl you say. I must admit I have never thought of such a thing, I must look into this. That however does not explain"

Harry didn't get to hear what she was going to say because Susan interrupted her, "Auntie that is enough! Please just listen a minute. This isn't what it looks like. Harry needed my help to get in contact with you and I was going to help him but you're here already. So will you please just sit down and listen to what he has to say. He's not the madman that the newspapers used to claim!"

"I am very aware of what you think about Mr. Potter, Susan; you have spoken much about him and his group over the last two weeks." She paused for a moment considering her niece's request before continuing, "Very well Susan, for you I will listen to him. Mr. Potter, you have better have a very good reason for this."

Internally Harry was groaning this was not how he had wanted things to go. He needed her to believe him and had been counting on Susan having talked to her before hand and explaining a few things first. Taken a few breaths he calmed himself a little before starting. "Parts of this will sound far-fetched but I need you to believe it is true. I'll take Veritaserum and use a pensive to verify everything I say. Everything I say may not seem important, but in the end you'll understand."

"The use of Veritaserum is regulated Mr. Potter, it is used only in the most extreme cases, where there must be absolute truth."

Harry had to stop himself from snapping at her, "I think the difference between Voldemort winning or loosing is such a case Madam Bones. I know Edward was a member of the Order; I am taking a huge chance coming to you but in reality I don't have much of a choice, some things need to change and I'm hoping you can help with that."

Madam Bones' whole demeanor changed with that, "How, Mr. Potter, do you know of my brother's involvement? And how is this connected to Voldemort."

Harry was impressed that Madam Bones said his name with no trace of a flinch but with such a great amount of disdain. "I'll explain it during the story."

"Very well but first, Auror Tonks show yourself immediately. You are already under anti-Portkey and Apparation wards."

Tonks shimmered out of the air near the wall looking anything but happy at being caught by her boss. "Director."

"Tonks!" Harry couldn't believe he had been followed; he had put on his invisibility cloak before he even left his room.

"Wotcher Harry."

"But... How? I put on my invisibility cloak before I even left my room!"

Tonks blushed a little when she answered him, "Well, you see I was sort of already in your room. I um... tripped and that's what woke you up."

"My room, but… You repaired it! That's why I woke up in my bed; I didn't even notice it at the time."

Tonks nodded, "I'm really good with repair spells, so when I saw your room I thought I'd help you out a bit. I was just finishing up when I tripped and woke you up. I didn't say anything 'cause I got in a lot of trouble talking to you last time, I wasn't suppose to even be inside really, but when I saw you room…"

Harry had forgotten just where he was when Madam Bones interrupted, "As interesting as this is, you both have much to explain. Auror Tonks, joining another organization is not forbidden, unless of course it is contradictory to your Auror duties or involves illegal acts. With what I know of Dumbledore and his previous Order, I have no doubt that both are involved. With the reluctance of the ministry last year I may allow some leeway to be given, but you will answer all questions truthfully or you will find yourself in a cell. Is that understood?"

Tonks' answer was and immediate "Yes, Director Bones."

Harry was again impressed by Madam Bones, her voice left no doubt to just who was in command and held an amount of authority he had rarely heard before. Harry allowed himself a small smile as the thought that he had made the right decision ran through his mind.

"Very well, Mr. Potter I believe it is time to start this story of yours."

And so he did, he began with the first day he was sent his Hogwarts letter and his first year at Hogwarts. It was only a few minutes into his story when he reached the part about Fluffy; Madam Bones interrupted him to call a house elf and have it bring her pensive. For the next several hours Harry told everything he could think of from his so called adventures to his summers to letting the snake free at the zoo, never purposely leaving anything out and showing much of what happened with the pensive. After a little while Harry was telling everything more to himself and had almost forgotten about the others as he began to realize the advantage of using a Pensive. He had never purposely tried to remember everything like this before and seeing it all in the Pensive again allowed him to analyze it much more clearly. In doing so he realized just how much of a fool he had been not to see it all before.

When Harry finished he was startled to see that both Tonks and Susan were seated next to him with their arms around him and were softly crying on his shirt. He wasn't sure exactly when they had moved over to him and found it awkward that they were so close but most of him enjoyed the feeling of having their bodies pressed up against his own. Though he did have to wonder if the only time he was going have girls close to him was when they were crying.

Looking at Madam Bones Harry saw that her entire body was rigid and on her face was a look of pure fury that Harry hoped he would never see again and was a little scared that it may be directed at him.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, Raincoast Books, and Warner Brothers Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

It took Madam Bones only a few moments to calm down and had it not been for the look Harry had seen only moments before he never would have guessed that she had been the least bit affected by his story. "It appears, Mr. Potter, that there is a great many differences between your own story and that which has been reported to the Ministry."

Harry wasn't surprised that she hadn't known the truth, "I spent so much time trying not to think about it, I've never really just sat down and talked about everything before." He was silent a moment, "It was all manipulations wasn't it."

"I can not say positively, and I do not believe everything was; but it does appear Albus has manipulated the situation around you a great deal, perhaps starting from when you first received your Hogwarts letters."

"The Headmaster. Wha, what do you mean?" The question came from a confused Susan but Tonks also seemed to be a little confused with what had just been said.

"I meant just what I said Susan. Mr. Potter's life has been manipulated a great deal with out his knowledge, it would take to long to explain everything at the moment and we do not yet know enough to determine the specifics. I understand that you are confused but there are more important issues to discuss at the moment."

"Um, I do have a question though Madam Bones. What did you mean by starting when I received my Hogwarts letter? I didn't even get to read it until Hagrid came to get me on my birthday."

"That is exactly the reason why I suspect it Mr. Potter, Rebeus should not have been sent to you that day, and he was not even a professor at the time. While rare, you are not the first magically born child to be raised by Muggles, it is our policy to introduce you and your family to the magical world in the same way as a Muggle born. That your Aunt had some knowledge of the magical world is irrelevant. Muggle born students are not sent invitations via owls. A Hogwarts professor, generally a Head of House, as well as a member of Ministry's Department of Muggle Relations are both sent to the houses of incoming students for the first meeting. They explain the magical world and Hogwarts to the family in detail provide proof that magic does exist and charm the family so that they may not tell others of our existence. The parents and magical child are given books and pamphlets about our world, how to deal with having a magical child, and the laws they must now abide by. The member of Muggle Relations visits several more times over the following month to explain more in-depth about our world, as well as take them for their supplies at Diagon Alley and deal with whatever problems arise. Your relatives are not the first to decide they do not wish their child to go to Hogwarts and, as it is too dangerous to have untrained witches and wizards about, there are policies in place to deal with such problems. From your memories and what you have said, I have little doubt that in your case you would have been removed from your relatives care."

Her words shocked Harry. He had always hated being forced to return to the Dursley's and now he learned that he could have left them if it wasn't for Dumbledore. But at the same time he couldn't imagine not having met Hagrid like he had, having never received Hedwig as his first birthday present. He knew Hagrid would never purposely hurt or manipulate him and couldn't find himself wanting it to have been Professor McGonagall, or with his luck Professor Snape, and someone from the ministry that had been sent. He just wasn't sure what to think about it.

Madam Bones interrupted his thoughts talking to Tonks, and going over her perspective of events as an Order member. Harry was slightly amazed at Tonks, gone was the girl that had just been hugging him and crying on his shoulder and the fun loving girl she normally acted was replaced with a serious and self-confident Auror. He was also impressed by how Tonks managed to keep all of her opinions and observations separate from the facts. Tonks verified a few parts of the story, mostly about Sirius, but had little knowledge of what had happened to Harry before the last year. Though he did learn that Tonks had joined the Order so that she could be with Sirius and didn't have many missions besides watching Harry or using her Metamorphmagus abilities to listen in on conversations in the less reputable places. Once she finished Madam Bones had Susan show him to the nearest bedroom, saying that she now had many arrangements to make and would speak to him tomorrow.

Susan still seemed shook up over everything but lead him to a room. She showed him where the bath was and made sure he had another towel before showing him to his room. It was only a little down the hall from Susan's and was far nicer than Harry had ever previous seen. The bed in the room was different than anything he had seen before, it looked like it was made out of nothing but air and was only visible by some sort of shimmering effect. At Susan's insistence Harry laid down on the bed, his first though was that it was incredibly soft, so much so that it made him feel like he was going to fall into it. A moment later he realized that it was far firmer than he had first thought and seemed just about perfect to him, by far the most comfortable bed he had ever been in. When he asked Susan about it she seemed to glow with pride as she began talking about the bed. Apparently it is one of the Bones' specialties; a purely magical bed made from over 50 different spells and designed to conform to gives optimum comfort to whoever is sleeping on it. She went on for a good few minutes before letting him get ready for bed. Susan was almost out the door when she turned around, "Harry, I. I never knew… I had heard the rumors of course, but never thought... How? How could you go through all that?"

Harry didn't know how to respond. He tried to be polite to Susan, it wasn't her fault after all as he wondered it many times himself, and he was the guest here but it had been a hard day on him, that after having to relive everything for them he just didn't want to talk about it right now.

He was woken up the next day with a light knocking on the door. He knew something was wrong the moment he awoke, this was not his small worn-out bed from Privet Drive and it was definitely not his bed from Hogwarts. He was currently lying on an extremely comfortable large bed in a stone walled room with slate flooring. It took Harry a minute to remember where he was and everything that had happened; yesterday almost seemed like a dream but waking up here in such a nice bed proved that it had happened.

Harry was just about to get out of bed when the door opened and in walked Susan, she stopped instantly when she noticed that he was only wearing a pair of boxers. They both froze for a moment, Susan gawking at a nearly naked Harry, and Harry to embarrassed to move. He finally covered himself up and Susan turned around towards the door. She began to stutter an apology but ended up just getting out that breakfast was ready in his sitting room as she hurried out of the room.

Harry sat there for a moment just thinking about Susan for a moment, in a way it didn't really bother him, after all he had just seen Susan in her nightgown last night. He did however find it odd that in the last week he had accidentally felt Tonks up, been caught staring down Susan's nightgown and now be caught in just his boxers with the morning evidence of a good nights sleep. He had only truly had a few incidents with girls in his life.

The first time was during the beginning of his fourth year when Ron hadn't been talking to him and the entire school was against him. He hadn't been able to sleep so he had snuck out with his invisibility cloak to go for a walk and ended up sitting under the tree near the edge of the lake. He had fallen into a light slumber when voices woke him up. Waking up an amazing sight greeted his eyes. A few six and seventh year girls were in the process of undressing with a couple girls from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. At first Harry was too stunned to do anything but watch as they stripped to go skinny dipping in the lake. Once everyone was in the lake he was able to shake himself awake and fled as quickly as he could. The next day Harry had felt disgusted at having watched them. The memory instantly became his nightly dreams and shamed him every morning; it was only made worse by the fact that the school as a whole hated him. He could just imagine what they would say about him if they knew he was such a pervert. It had taken a while but once he had his friendship with Ron back and the school stopped hating him, the shame he felt disappeared.

Since then he had only had one other major incident with his invisibility cloak, he had taken a secret passage that he learned from the Maurders map back from a trip to the kitchens early one morning last year to walk in on a naked Angelina and Alicia each with an equally naked Lee, Fred, and George. He had turned around to try and go back the way he came only to find the trap door wouldn't open from that direction and had to slowly maneuver himself between them to make his way out. He hadn't been able to look any of them in the eye for weeks afterwards and never took that passageway again.

He had tried to get Cho to let him do some things with her last year and she had let him get as far as taken her top off and his hand up her skirt after the interview had come out, but hadn't let him get that far again afterwards. The smell of Breakfast interrupted his thoughts so he quickly threw on his clothes and walked to the sitting room to see Susan and Tonks talking at table waiting for him.

There was a moment of awkward silence as Harry walked in and sat at the table which ended with Tonks giggling. "Quidditch boxers Harry? Wanting someone to catch the golden snitch are you?"

Harry's face went scarlet with that comment, 'of course those would be the boxers I was caught wearing', he thought to himself. Tonks and Susan were both began laughing at the look of his face. "Sorry Harry, I couldn't resist. I brought your trunk and what I could find in your room; let me know if I missed anything."

"You went back and got my trunk?"

"Yup, I'll be popping over to the Dursley's for the next few days to take your place."

"You're taking my place, why? How?"

"It's my specialty Harry; remember I'm a Metamorphmagus as well, so it makes it even easier. It's not too hard for me to turn into you, though I did have a really hard time with your hair. Took me a good long while to get it messy enough. The why is because I spoke with Director Bones after you went to sleep last night; one of my new assignments is to keep your move hidden until we get some things ready."

"Get what ready?"

"Harry do you understand just what you did last night? The reason you came here last night was to change things right? Well, you succeeded and then some. You basically told the head of magical law enforcement that you were largely responsible for saving the world, that Dumbledore not only kept it from you but also that instead of teaching you to deal with it you manipulated you in such a way that risked your life and the life of everyone in the world several times. I just came from a meeting with her; she's making a lot of those changes right now or at least setting things up for them. At the moment you are quite literally the most important person in the world Harry. I'm sure she'll be talking to you tonight but I can tell you a little of what's going on. I've been assigned as your guard for today, though I'll have to disappear a couple times for you to be seen at your relatives. I put up some charms so that no one should notice that you're gone. Everyone expects you to be at your relatives, that's great advantage for your security here. While you're here you can go outside as long as you stay well within the wards, I'm sure Susan will know where the boundaries are and under no condition are you to let anyone know where you are."

"You didn't get in trouble for last night or being in the Order right?"

"Nah, Director Bones was pissed at Dumbledore not me. If it wouldn't have hurt our side so much I think she would have ordered his arrest already. Now hurry up and put these on then you can eat." Tonks gave both Susan and Harry two identical rings. "They're emergency Portkey rings, just press the ruby in and it'll activate. They're also set to activate the moment a curse goes through its detection field, so even misses will count."

As they were putting the rings on Tonks gave Harry a small bundle, inside was strange necklace the likes he had never seen before. The necklace had a pure white cord which went through the center of a circular pendant about 10 centimeters wide. The pendant had three outer rings made of three different materials and a circular stone in the middle that was about three centimeters in diameter. There were tons of fine white strings going out from the stone to each of the three rings at odd and seemingly random angles.

He looked up at Tonks, hoping for an explanation. "Don't look at me. I have no idea what the necklace is or what it does. Never seen anything like it myself. I just know that the head unspeakable brought it to the Director himself, so it's got to be important whatever it is."

He put it on and began to eat Breakfast but something was still bothering him about the necklace he just couldn't put his finger on it. They didn't talk much through breakfast though Harry did help himself to second servings. While the Dursley's had ignored him since he had gotten back home and allowed Harry to make a simple meal for himself, he hadn't had a full meal since the leaving feast two weeks prior.

After breakfast Susan offered to show Harry around the house and Harry was impressed by what he saw. He hadn't gotten a very good look at it last night but as he was shown around he realized it was large, open, and somehow a very masculine looking house. It was three stories made of stone, had a steep roof, and large heavy wooden doors on each room. The floors were made of black slate, except the bedrooms which were carpeted, and had large black wooden beams that looked to be for support though Susan explained that they were to help channel the power of the wards more than support. There were a lot of large windows in each room to bring in light and allow a beautiful view of the surrounding lands. Most rooms had a large fireplace, though there was only one that was hooked up to the Floo network and was in a specially warded room in the basement. The hallways and staircases were lit by magical torches which all had the Bones Coat of Arms shinning proudly in the front of the torch.

The study was a surprise for Harry. He had expected a large library filled with shelves like Hogwarts but the room turned out to be about a 10 meter square with two large tables and only one bookshelf. The single bookshelf was flanked by three suits of armor on each side and was only partially filled with books. The walls held several paintings and portraits and Harry was pleased to meet several previous masters of the house. At first Harry thought they just didn't have many books but then Susan explained how it worked. The small bookshelf held the indexes of the books in the house and all you had to do was select the books you wanted and they would appear on the one of the tables. The system also had a lot of security measures in it and you had to be added to the list to be able to even read the indexes, and that some books had higher security than others, like the restricted section of Hogwarts. The suits of armor flanking the shelf and others that were stationed near the door were also part of that security and would attack anyone who didn't have permission or that tried to take a book outside of the room.

Harry looked through a couple of the indexes and saw that they had a great many books, not as many as Hogwarts but still more than he had thought a personal library would. The third book he had picked up confused him until he had Susan explain about it as well, as it was completely blank. It was an order book for the Library of Alexandria, you just wrote in it and it communicated directly to another book at the library. It was mainly used to check out books but you could also ask the librarian questions to help find the book or information you needed. Once you selected the book you wanted, your copy of the order book turns into the new book until you close it. Then it'll reverted back to normal. Susan admitted to having used one a few times when she hadn't finished her homework and it was too late to go to the library or couldn't find what she needed. Harry understood why he hadn't seen one at the Weasley's when he mentioned getting one of his own and was told how it was really expensive to buy the book originally and that you had to pay an annual fee for it. Susan's had belonged to her parents, her Aunt gave it to her after she had done well her first two years.

When Harry first stepped outside again was amazed at the how beautiful the world could be. He had spent a good deal of time over the years staring out the windows of Hogwarts and admiring the view. He allowed himself a small smile at the thought of how Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would react to knowing that such a beautiful house with so much land was owned by a Witch. Looking out from the wooden porch he saw at least ten hectares of grasslands covered sparsely with trees and a stream going from the eastern portion towards the back. Just off to the left of the porch is a small greenhouse and beyond that lays a wooden stable attached to a large paddock. Straight back from the porch past all the grass and hills is a wooded area that looks a lot lighter and more inviting than the forest Harry was used to seeing. This was nothing like Privet Drive.

Harry silently cursed Tonks while gasping to catch his breath. When Susan was showing Harry their horses and dogs Tonks had just came back from the Dursley's and had the brilliant idea of going for a run around all the land. Since Susan wasn't much of a runner she decided to ride her horse, Codi Beau, while they ran. Harry had thought the idea great at first, and liked it even better when he saw that Susan would be moving up and down while riding the horse, she explained it was called posting and was done when riding with her type of saddle. She explained a lot more about Horses and the different riding styles but Harry, who had perfected the art of looking like your paying attention with Hermione, had stopped listening to her a minute after she started and instead used the time to enjoy the view. That of course was nearly two hours earlier.

Harry had always thought himself as fast on his feet, having learned to outrun Dudley's gang and then keeping his speed up for Quidditch. Unfortunately he quickly learned that he was no match for a horse. He could understand that, and admitted to himself it had been stupid to try and race a horse. However he couldn't believe that after nearly two hours of running Tonks wasn't even out of breath and looked like she could go for another hour. He knew she was an Auror and he had been sore before he started because of workouts the last few days but here he was nearly dead on his feet and she looked like she had just been on a leisurely stroll! He mumbled a goodbye and went to take a bath and hopefully relax for a minute.

The bath had been an excellent idea and he felt much better by the time he had gotten out. He found Tonks and Susan chatting and laughing in the sitting room they ate breakfast at. He had been surprised to learn that Tonks was a Hufflepuff and knew Susan from the first two years at Hogwarts. Harry felt stupid for being surprised but he had always just assumed that because Tonks was an Auror she would have been a Gryffindor.

After having lost two games of gobstones and one game of wizards' chess to Tonks Harry was ready to start calling her a cheat just out of frustration! I mean really, she's funny, gorgeous, an Auror, can beat me in dueling, running, gobstones and now chess! Does she have to be perfect in everything!

Unfortunately Tonks voice interrupted his thoughts. "Can't cook worth a darn, I'm rather horrible on my house-hold charms and dead clumsy!"

Harry just closed his eyes and put his head in hands thinking, 'I did not just say that aloud' over and over again.

He felt a hand on his leg and looked up to see Tonks looking back at him.

Tonks smiled at him and softly whispered to him, "Thank you for the compliment Harry. I mean it, like Susan said yesterday; it's nice to be appreciated by someone like you."

Harry almost looked away at first but couldn't, looking at her face Harry could tell she wasn't having a laugh at him. Her face was completely unguarded, it was like she was trying to pour her emotions directly into him; she was trying to show him how she was telling the truth. Harry just managed to smile at her when she got up off her knees, but instead of heading back to her seat like he thought, she got closer, gave him another smile and then kissed on the cheek.

Harry awoke from his daze as Tonks began talking to him again, only to find she wasn't in front of him anymore but was already back in her chair.

"I wouldn't worry too much about the running Harry, you're already really fast with out any real training. I've had to run everyday for the last three years but even then I couldn't do what I did today with out help. Some of the things you learn as an Auror are enhancing spells. We have spells give us a little bit quicker reflexes, a little bit faster speed, and spells to enhance our stamina. I may just have to teach you the stamina spells, I know a few male Aurors that swear by that spell! It'll help you to please whoever catches your Golden Snitch."

Harry mentally groaned as his face began to turn beat red again. She had to be doing it on purpose; it seemed that since this morning she had been going out of her way to embarrass him!

Harry was saved from further embarrassment by a House Elf letting them know that Madam Bones had arrived home and dinner would be served in a few minutes.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books, Raincoast Books, and Warner Brothers Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

After dinner, Harry found himself back in a sitting room near his and Susan's bedrooms with Tonks, Susan, and Madam Bones.

Madam Bones waited for everyone to become situated, and for a House Elf to bring drinks. "To start, I found a great deal of disturbing information while researching your situation today. The first of which began nearly fifteen years ago with your Aunt and Uncle becoming your legal guardians. After going over the ministry's file on you this morning, I requested the information from the Muggle Ministry as well as your primary school. I was quite surprised to find that according to the Muggle ministry you have never existed. While this is common for older pureblooded families, that you have lived in the Muggle world fully for ten years and at least partially for five more with out legal complications is remarkable. The Department of Muggle Relations normally takes care of all legal documents and records involving the Muggle government for families that live or wish to live even partially in the Muggle world. After going through all available records I have found no mention of the Dursley's gaining your legal guardianship or any record of a request from them for your guardianship."

"That's probably because they didn't." Harry said, interrupting her.

"Pardon?"

"I don't know everything, but from all the yelling they did over the years I know that they didn't want me or go out of their way to get me, I was left on their doorstep one night with a note."

"Indeed. That is rather distressing to learn though not unexpected when considering what you showed us early this morning. While it is horrible that events occurred as they did, it does make handling your situation legally easier for us now. As the Dursley's have never been your legal guardian's, there is no legal premise for you to return to them. According to your parent's will, and the paper worked at the ministry supports this, your godfather became your legal guardian. Since Mr. Black was never found guilty of any crimes, as he was not giving a trial, he remained your guardian regardless of his illegal incarceration. With his passing you no longer have a legal guardian and, under the current circumstances, it should not be difficult to have you be legally considered an adult."

"Unfortunately, while I believe you and the story you told us this morning, a Pensieve memory can not be counted as fact due to the possibility of memory altering spells. Instead of using a Pensieve and Veritaserum to verify that what you have shown us is in-fact true, an ancient device called a Staour af Sjón, though it's more commonly referred to as the room of visions, will be used."

"I would first like to state that you are in no way being investigated for any wrongdoing, and nothing seen in your memories will be used to bring about any legal charges against you or your friends. That being said I would also like to apologize in advance for requiring you to go through this."

"The most noticeable difference between The Room of Visions and a Pensieve is that this device can determine whether a memory is real or a fake; even in situations where the person does not know it was false, such as having your memory altered. It accomplishes this by latching on to emotions and small details from each memory in question and then finding other memories with the same details or emotions from your past. This process is done a great many times; creating a complex web of connections between your memories that even the most skilled Witch or Wizard could not create. Another large difference between this and a Pensieve is that you, and all who are in the room with you, will feel everything you felt, emotional or physical, and hear every thought you had.

Harry failed to stifle a groan when he heard that last part; he did not like the sound of reliving everything at all.

Madam Bones heard his groan and a look of sympathy crossed her face, "I am sorry to say that there is one last part which you will not enjoy hearing about Mr. Potter. You will have to relive all the memories you showed me last night; and many others that you will not be able to choose in front of a group of witnesses. I know that this is a great invasion of your privacy and I have kept the amount of witnesses to a bare minimum. Only seven people, including you, Auror Tonks, and myself, will be present. They will be; Rill Hunzinger, Senior Auror for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Charles Croaker, Head Unspeakable for the Department of Mysteries; Gilbert Pressau, Director of the Department of Mysteries; and Zhiv Al'Meare, a former Hit Wizard and current leader of the Dark Arts Defense League. Each is extremely trustworthy and holds the utmost respect from their piers. I do not like that you must go through this but I am afraid that we have little choice."

This time Harry didn't even bother to try to hide his displeasure. "And here I thought it couldn't get much worse after learning I'd have to see and feel everything I felt during those bloody memories!" Harry was going to continue on about something called privacy when Tonks said something that completely interrupted his train of thought.

"Don't you see Harry, that's one of the remarkable things about life; it's never so bad that it can't get worse!"

Harry stopped and just stared at Tonks for a moment while deciding if he had actually heard her correctly. She looked like she was serious, or at least as serious as she could with purple and green spiked hair and pink eyes, and she had a bright smile on her face as if she was really proud about what she had just said. A moment later Harry began to realize that Tonks was correct, things could get worse, a lot worse and they probably would. Despite not finding anything funny about this, Harry began to laugh.

"Mr. Potter, let me now tell you some of the good that will come from this. Your godfather's name will be cleared. While this will not bring him back to life, it will help bring light upon such a grievous mistake and, hopefully help prevent it from ever happening again. Charges will be brought against Delores Umbridge, and every Death Eater you witnessed at his rebirth. Your recorded will be cleared of all false charges, including the use of magic from before your second year. You will be granted the full rights of an adult, including the use of magic and your license to Apparate. You will receive specialized training from the Unspeakables and Aurors, and later by a Confederation Hit Wizard. You will gain full control of your inheritance, including the Potter Manor. You will never have to go back to your relatives again, that I will personally guarantee."

"In addition, you will not have to deal with Severus Snape again, at least not at Hogwarts. Many have wanted him gone throughout the years and I know of several Witches and Wizards have applied for the Potions Master position at Hogwarts, only to be denied. Lucious Malfoy and Albus Dumbledore were always Snape's biggest, and only, true supporters. With Lucious in prison and the proof of Snape's actions towards you, and others, over the years I have no doubt he will be removed from Hogwarts."

"Within a couple weeks time we should be in position to have Fudge removed as Minister of Magic, to be replaced with Gilbert Pressau, whom you will be meeting tomorrow. Once he is in place, we will have more support to make the changes required to begin saving the wizarding world. There will, of course, be many other changes brought upon by this; however I believe those are the most prominent of them."

Harry grinned at the news of Fudge being kicked out, that alone would be worth reliving his memories, but everything else truly blew his mind away. Training by Aurors and Unspeakables, Sirius' name cleared, Snape being hired… Only one thing came to his mind to ask.

"How?"

"How can you do all that, it's only been one day!"

"One day since you came here yes, but the beginnings of this started long ago. Tell me Mr. Potter, have you ever heard of the Plebeians, or Plebs?"

Harry shook his head, "Not that I can think of."

"No, I suppose you wouldn't. History is taught rather skewed in Hogwarts and most students there would barely think of, yet alone talk about them. Perhaps you know what a squib is?"

"Err, yeah. A person with magical parents who can't use magic. I found out last year during the attack that one of my neighbors, Mrs. Figg, was one."

"Not completely accurate, however it is a close enough description for now. Your neighbor Mrs. Figg would not have been born with that name. Did you know that magical families disown a Squib at the age of eleven? They are sent away to a boarding school, but they are never allowed to return to their families. Their surname's are changed upon entrance to the school and they begin a new life there. Once the Squib has left all pictures of the child are removed, and the name is removed from all family and ministry records. This has been the tradition for over 500 years now."

Harry couldn't believe they could treat their own children that way! He had been disgusted how they treated other creatures before, but their own children…

"Now to learn about the Plebs I must tell you a little bit about how our current society came to be. You know of course that Hogwarts was created over a thousand years ago as the first large school to teach magic. However, before that magic was taught through apprenticeships. It was not uncommon for a learned wizard to have a dozen, or more, apprentices. As more students chose to attend Hogwarts, many of the more prominent witches and wizards did not like that they no longer had the apprentices to add to their income and do much of their work. About seven hundred years ago, as the more affluent wizards were loosing much of their importance, The Council was created. The Council was an organized ruling body for much of Europe made up of nearly all the learned and affluent wizards of the time. Over time The Council changed and became two separate entities; the International Confederation and what is now known as the Wizengamot."

"While those original members may all be dead, many of their families still live on and over the centuries, they have remained in power; today they are known as the Pureblood families. And while we now have an official government, they still rule Europe through their influence. That, of course, is a very simplified version of things."

"The Plebeians are all of those who's families were not part of The Council, they make up over 70 percent of the magical population. While they may have over 70 percent of the population, they do not have nearly 70 percent of the power. Never in the history of the Ministry has there been a Plebian as the Minister, or senior advisor. Since it's creation there has never been more than three Plebeians on Wizengamot at any one time. At the moment there are only two, of which I am one."

"The Plebeians have never had an easy time but over the last century has been much worse for them. Many have not been able to send their children to Hogwarts. Either needing the children to begin working earlier to help support their family or not having enough to afford Hogwarts' tuition. Apprenticing with family, friends, or in some cases, a fully trained wizard is becoming more common among them.

"However, even if they can afford to send their children to Hogwarts, our society is designed to hinder their success as much as possible. Muggle born students are in much the same situation. No matter how smart your friend, Miss Granger is unless she marries into a more pureblood family, she will never receive the success she deserves."

"While Voldemort is the most immediate threat and must be dealt with, there are other problems that exist in our world and we must deal with them as well. You do see that do you not Mr. Potter? For far to long the Wizarding World has existed by the oppression of others."

Harry nodded his head. He knew he should say something but wasn't sure exactly what he should say; there were just to many things to say, to many things to think about, and to many questions to ask. Fortunately, Madam Bones seemed to sense what he was feeling.

"The meeting will be at three tomorrow morning Mr. Potter. Perhaps it would be best if you try and get some sleep, you will have a very long day tomorrow."

Harry just nodded to her, mumbled a quick goodnight to them and went to his bed. When he laid down, he didn't think he would be able to sleep at all; his mind was just too full and jumbled. However, a minute or two later he was out cold.

Harry smiled slightly as he woke up; the comfyness of the bed and warmth of his blanket felt great against his body. After a few moments of enjoying the feeling he heard someone grumbling, raising himself up he expected to see Ron or one of his dorm mates mumbling about how early it is and was surprised with whom he saw.

"Tonks!"

Tonks, startled by Harry's voice, tripped over the box she had dropped and somehow landed on the…

Harry stared for a moment, and then grabbed his glasses to make sure his eyes weren't fooling him.

"Um… Tonks, what are you doing on the ceiling?"

"It's one of your new protections, just shut that box would you? I'll explain once I get down."

Harry climbed out of bed and shut the box. Unfortunately for Harry, but fortunately for Tonks, he was standing right under her and broke her fall from the ceiling.

Harry managed to get himself out from under Tonks and then helped her up.

"Thanks Harry, you made a good pillow. Now that you're up help me with this box, we're setting it at the foot of your bed; it's a might heavier than it looks and magic won't work on it."

The box was surprisingly heavy and Harry was impressed that Tonks had managed to get it by herself.

"All right, now that that's done, what is that thing? And how did you end up on the ceiling?"

"Not really sure exactly what it is, Director Bones brought it home, some sort of artifact is in the box I think. I do know it's part of your security here though. As long as the box is open, anyone else but you who walks into the room will end up stuck to the ceiling. Magic won't work on the box, and won't help in getting off the ceiling, so you're the only one who'll be able to open or close it."

"Tonks, what do you think of all this?"

Harry couldn't help but stare at the amount of skin her legs showed as Tonks sat down on the edge of the bed, bringing her knees up to her chest. "Well, which part Harry?"

Good question, Harry thought. He really didn't know what was bothering him. "I don't know, I guess all of it."

"I was raised mostly as a Muggle, so a bit the history was new to me, but it makes sense with some things I've started to see in the last couple years and many of the things me mum told me about when I was younger."

"She left the wizarding world right after Hogwarts because she hated it. She used to say that the wizarding world was nothing but a cesspool of cruelty, corruption, and laziness. She didn't tell me everything, but I know some the stories. She was betrayed by several her friends after Hogwarts because she chose to live in a Muggle flat. It was after the second time she was attacked that she left the world completely."

"Me dad was over, though they were just dating at the time, and they were attacked. He was hit with a couple curses, including the Cruciatus and it really freaked him out. He broke up with her for a little bit, but she was able get him back. Now, the only time I ever see her use a wand is to recharge the wards around the house. She was actually pretty sad when I chose not to leave the wizarding world after Hogwarts 'cause she likes the Muggle world a lot better."

Tonks laughed softly for a moment, "You should've heard the argument we had when I went to work for the Ministry. Really though, her stories were one of the main reasons I first thought of becoming an Auror. I thought I could change things and make this world a little better for her, so that she wouldn't have to hide from it anymore; a naïve idea of a young schoolgirl perhaps, but it seemed right at the time."

"It's one the main reasons why I agreed to join The Order. I had started seeing just how corrupt things really were and how little I could do as an Auror. I think that one of the best decisions that I've ever made so far was to let you fly here and not report it to The Order. Whether you realized it or not, in less than 24 hours you've begun to change our world more than I could in an entire lifetime. At least now I know I made the right decision yesterday in pledging myself to you."

Harry was startled out of his thoughts by that, "What?"

Tonks smiled sheepishly, "Err… Yeah, I forgot to mention that didn't I? Director Bones and I were talking after you went to bed last night, well this morning really, anyways, she had to make sure I wouldn't tell the Order you were here yet and to know where my loyalties would lie. I knew I didn't want to be cut out of what was happening and I didn't want to leave you alone. So I suggested that I pledge myself to you. I'm still not really sure exactly what made me suggest it, but it shocked us both a bit when I did. It worked though, it's why she didn't ask me to leave tonight; she knows I'm not going to betray you."

"Um, Tonks, what about the Order? Didn't you swear your loyalty to them or something?"

"Nah, not sure why Ol' Dumbledore doesn't do something like that, but guess that's the way he is, trusting the best in people. Pretty much all that happened was that Kingsley and Dumbledore explained things a little and then asked me if I was interested. I said yes and that night Kingsley brought me to Grimmauld Place where I met Sirius. A couple nights later we had a meeting where I met the rest."

"What!" Harry nearly shouted, "My parent's were killed because of a traitor in The Order and he doesn't even make them do anything? Even in the D.A., everyone had to sign a jinxed parchment! What the bleeding Hell does he expect? The same thing will happen all over again!" Harry was enraged and got out of bed to pace around the room, his thoughts focusing on Wormtail and his betrayl.

"Not that I mind watching you pace around in your boxers, but since neither of us are going to be getting much sleep now and we'd have to get up in an hour or so anyways, why don't you get dressed and we'll go for a jog outside. It should be nice out at this time of night."

During their jog Tonks told Harry about the different people that he would be meeting that morning. Harry was surprised that Tonks had only met one of them, the Senior Auror. She told him that he was really strict, extremely unpleasant when you make the same mistake over again, but also very helpful with advice.

Tonks had heard of all the others and spent some time telling him what the rumors about them were, and how he should act around them. Apparently, the former Hit Wizard, Zhiv, had been one of the best and had taken down a couple famous dark wizards. He also learned that the Unspeakables dealt with the intricacies and nature of magic itself, and that she had only a very base idea of what they did and what they could teach him.

After they finished jogging, they sat on the steps to the house and talked for a little longer, until Tonks said it was time for them to wash up and get ready.


End file.
